Car and Driver

This morning on Car and Driver TV they tested 5 crew cab trucks against each other, they were F-150, Nissan Titan, Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Ram and the Chevy Z-71. In Order they finshed: Titan, F-150, Ram, Tacoma, and Z-71. Not bad for Nissan's newest entry into the truck market, but nic e to see Ford finish above Chevy.

The Japanese are having a hard time running with the big dog [ford]
ive seen in other sites that they are having all sorts of production problems on this new atempt in america this will be intersting too
see how the production quality goes in the future. I have never
personaly subscribed to the superior japanese quality & realaibility garbage! But i do rember once that i was selling someone a set of wiperblades on a lexus & they did not show up for the lexus so i looked up the sister car the toyota & the customer went balistic saying to me it is a lexus not a toyota & i had to reassure him it was a toyota he was furious to think that had paid that much money on a toyota & so on & so on with nissan, honda. This the best way to describe latest atempt from the Japanese in america it goes like this THE JAPANESE HUSTLE VERSUS THE AMERICAN MUSCLE. Ford will not let this newest volley go un answered.
turbo ted

the biggest thing about the Tundra is the V-8 that they put in em. The I-Force V-8 is not pwerfull at all. The only problem i have heard about the Ford is that it dosnt fell like it has 300hp, but if they came out whith a manual then that would probly solve that problem...

Well, if the Ford finished so poorly in all the performance tests (acceleration, braking, skid pad, lane change, etc) yet still finished 2nd overall, that's pretty impressive. Now if Ford would just get off their butts and produce a 4V 5.4 to the potential we know is possible, everyone else would get donkey stomped.

Car and Driver may prefer the Nissan, and that's ok. Motor Trend gave the Ford the Truck of the Year award, that's ok too. But, the real issue for both Ford and Nissan is how many they sell, and that's a race I think Ford is winning for the time being. But, we all know what happened to the car market with the Japanese, so I hope Ford will become more competitive in the horsepower race, people do consider performance when they purchase trucks, at least I do, I always buy the biggest engine available in the model I like.

I've said it before, but I think a lot of the reason the 5.4 doesn't feel like 300HP, besides being almost 400 lbs heavier than Ram, the next heaviest of the bunch, and over 800 lbs heavier than Tundra, is the gearing and a low redline. I think it is not good to redline at the same RPM you peak in HP, 5000 RPM for the 5.4. If it were allowed to rev to 5400 or even just 5200 RPM, it would help a ton. The other is the poor gear ratios in comparison with the competition. The Titan and Ram tested both have 5-speed autos which allows their motors to stay right in their powerband and also have lower 1st gears, along with Silverado. The Tundra in that competition is using 4.11's and has similar transmission gearing as F-150 with 3.73's, but to get 4.11's in F-150 you have to get the Heavy Payload Package. All the other 4 trucks had lower effective first gears, but due to their ability to rev higher, can stay in first gear until a higher speed, getting the most out of each gear. I'm not saying trucks should be high revving motors, but 5000 RPM's is not very high, especially for an OHC motor. If they would just let her wind up a little more and give it a more effective tranny, or make 4.10's an option for non payload packages, I would be willing to bet it could be at least half a second faster, maybe more. What do you think.

I don't like how Car and Driver tests things. Since they're testing trucks, wouldn't it make sense to do things such as towing tests? They tested them like they were cars, with the exception of driving them over that sand dune, and I think they just did that one for fun. And it always seems like they're way more interested in the interior and styling than they are with performance.

The good thing about Car and Driver is that the people writing it aren't 'truck guys' but at the very same time, the bad thing about Car and Driver is that the people writing aren't truck guys. Coming from outside the truck world, they don't look for all the same features/abilities that the typical truck owner looks for. This can be a good thing because it offers a different perspective on a new truck, but at the same time it can lead to un-informed conclusions about a product too.

As for not including towing tests, I think somewhere in the article they mention that most of the models/trim packages tested were going on trucks that were personal use trucks, rather than work trucks. They tested the trucks in situations that they felt would be most typical for a personal-use truck. But I may be mixing this article up with the one by Motor Trend.

Ford finished second because it was slower and it handled poorly in almost every aspect (and thats due to excess weight)

Even if the Titan is a 'better' truck than the F150, Ford really doesn't need to worry. Even at max production in Mississippi (did I spell that right?), Nissan will only be able to make 1 Titan for every 8 or 10 F150s that roll off the line.

Nice to have a fresh, AND well-balanced voice! Welcome to the forum! Now that I'm done sniffin' yer ****, I'll get on with my point.

I agree.

(except for the handling....I've heard contrary, and thought the truck I<<<< tested handled VERY well. Which WASN'T a crew-cab. And yeah, I know what handling is...sportscars are surely not foreign to me.) I live in Redneck country, and IMHO, the Titan is not even a close comparison to the F150 I'm about to order for MY needs and wants. To each their own, but I'll dance on the blue oval.

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